Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

The deeper they went, the clearer the sounds from inside became. Lu Xingye turned on his video recorder and stuck close behind Jiang Li.

Jiang Li appeared unaffected on the surface, but with every step she took, the scenes replayed in her mind.

But she couldn’t panic. After everything it took to get in, she absolutely could not waste this opportunity.

"No! I’m not sick! I want to go home! I want to go home!"

"I don’t want the medicine! I’m not sick! SOB... Mama, where are you, Mama? I miss you so much..."

Hearing the miserable cries from inside, Jiang Li froze. Her pace slowed involuntarily.

"Mama, it hurts so much. Mama, I want to go home..."

Lu Xingye forced himself to calm down and carefully gather evidence.

After passing through, they entered a long corridor with doors on both sides. The windows were small, about twenty centimeters wide, and completely covered in mesh.

Lu Xingye leaned in for a closer look, and his hand immediately began to tremble. There were even fragments of flesh caught in the wire mesh. The wire was thick and covered in reddish rust.

Lu Xingye bit down hard on his lower lip as he looked from one room to the next. He couldn’t see inside clearly, but if he got close, he could hear soft sobs.

The people inside must have heard the footsteps, because they instantly fell silent, too afraid to make a sound. The entire corridor went quiet again—frighteningly so.

Lu Xingye suddenly saw Jiang Li stop in front of one of the rooms. He couldn’t help but stop as well, an absurd thought entering his mind.

’Could that be the room she was kept in?’

Lu Xingye clenched his fists at his sides. After a long moment, he walked toward Jiang Li.

Jiang Li opened the room’s door.

"Who are you!"

"Let me go!"

"No, it hurts!"

"I’m not sick! I don’t want to be separated from Little Li!"

"Let me go!!"

The moment the door opened, a flood of voices assaulted her mind. The SIZZLE of electricity seemed to seep through her skin, followed by the paralyzing sensation of her nerves going numb.

Jiang Li’s step forward froze in mid-air. Terror washed over her expressionless face, and the hand gripping the doorknob trembled uncontrollably.

"No..."

"It’s okay, Sister. Little Li is with you."

Little Li’s voice reached her, and Jiang Li’s blurry vision sharpened. Her mind pulled free from the memories, and she stepped into the room.

Seeing her go in, Lu Xingye finally dared to follow. He contacted Zhou Tiancheng and Ji Qinghe on his phone.

Lu Xingye walked to the doorway. It was very dark inside. The light from the corridor only illuminated the entrance, making it impossible to see what was inside.

A strange smell assaulted him.

Jiang Li walked in and went straight in the direction she remembered, not daring to look around. Soon, her fumbling hands found a medical record book.

She grabbed it, turned, and quickly retreated. Once outside, she leaned against the wall, dazed for a long while.

At the police station, Zhou Tiancheng read the message from Lu Xingye, then looked up at Zhou Fuhai sitting across from him.

Zhou Fuhai frowned and met his gaze.

"Tiancheng, what is it? Didn’t you hear what I just said?

This Wu Jianzhang and Ma Shufang are a couple, so it’s their family business. Besides, look, isn’t Ma Shufang fine?

Wu Jianzhang’s injuries were an accident. This case is invalid.

It’s normal for couples to have small fights. What do you think you’re doing, meddling in their private affairs?"

Zhou Fuhai took a sip of water and looked up at Ji Qinghe and Zhou Tiancheng, his eyes filled with dissatisfaction. ’These two are really making a name for themselves at the station, one case after another.’

’If this keeps up, I might as well just give them my position as Chief.’

’And this Wu Jianzhang... He can’t even clean up his own mess, making such a big scene for everyone.’

"Chief, Wu Jianzhang has been abusing Ms. Ma Shufang for ten years. They don’t have a marriage certificate, so it’s not domestic violence—it’s attempted murder..."

Ji Qinghe trembled with anger as she recalled the surveillance footage of Ma Shufang being beaten, abused, and monitored by Wu Jianzhang.

’They aren’t even married, so what bullshit domestic violence? And besides, marriage isn’t a cover for committing crimes!’

Before Ji Qinghe could finish, Zhou Fuhai put down his cup, slammed the table, and glared at her.

"Is Ma Shufang injured or disabled? And marriage fraud? Wu Jianzhang didn’t defraud Ma Shufang of her money. There are no finances involved. This can only be considered a civil matter."

Ji Qinghe wanted to say more, but Zhou Fuhai cut her off. "That’s enough!"

Zhou Tiancheng suddenly sneered. "Chief, are you so eager to cover for Wu Jianzhang because you’ve taken something from him?"

"Zhou Tiancheng! Watch your attitude!" Zhou Fuhai roared.

Zhou Tiancheng looked at Zhou Fuhai and said sternly, "Wu Jianzhang’s sanatorium—fraud, illegal detention, patient abuse. Chief, you’d better pray this has nothing to do with you."

Zhou Tiancheng stood up, gave Zhou Fuhai one last look, and walked out, quickly ordering his officers to move out.

"Zhao Shuo, take people to Wu Jianzhang’s sanatorium! Also, have two colleagues go to the hospital and keep an eye on Wu Jianzhang!"

"Oh, right, right!" Zhao Shuo gathered his things, called his men, and followed Zhou Tiancheng out into the night.

Only then did Ji Qinghe notice Lu Xingye’s message. A sense of satisfaction washed over her. ’They’re truly getting what they deserve.’

In less than an hour, the sanatorium was surrounded by the officers Zhou Tiancheng had brought. The patients inside looked on, confused, but didn’t dare to move.

When Lin Ye received the news, his heart sank. ’How could something happen right after the director was hospitalized?’

Lin Ye had no choice but to get out of bed and hurry over with some men, feeling deeply uneasy.

"Has the director woken up yet?" Lin Ye asked the person next to him.

"No."

’Damn it!’

As soon as Lin Ye arrived on the mountain, he saw several police cars parked at the sanatorium’s entrance. The area was cordoned off with police tape. He couldn’t help but swallow. ’That place is so well hidden.’

’The police are at the sanatorium... maybe it’s just because of the director’s injury,’ he thought. ’I can’t panic.’

Zhou Tiancheng saw Lin Ye coming down and stepped forward, showing his badge. "Are you the director of this sanatorium?"

"I... I’m the vice-director. Wu Jianzhang, who’s in the hospital, is the director."

Lin Ye tried to say more, but in the next second, with a CLICK, cold handcuffs were slapped on his wrists.

"Off-officer, isn’t there some kind of misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding? Save it for the station."

Zhou Tiancheng looked at Lin Ye with icy eyes.

Lin Ye was about to argue, but the next moment he saw a group of people walking out from the garden, and he froze in shock.

’How is that possible!’

’How did they know about this place? And how could they know the password?!’

"Take him away!" Zhou Tiancheng looked at Lin Ye’s expression and snorted coldly.

Zhao Shuo put the man directly into the car, to prevent him from seeing Jiang Li.

Before Lin Ye could get a clear look at anything, he was already at the police station.

He was completely bewildered, with no idea how the secret had gotten out.

Jiang Li and Lu Xingye released the innocent victims. There were eighteen people in total, the majority of whom were patients with depression. Among them were also several patients with rare psychiatric disorders.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Phantom Limb Syndrome, Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, Capgras Delusion, Cotard’s Syndrome, and Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Zhou Tiancheng looked at the patients before him. They were so thin they were just skin and bones, their minds were dazed, and their hands were covered in dense needle marks. It didn’t look at all like they were here for treatment.

"Qinghe, you take them to the hospital first for a thorough examination. We’ll go inside and take a look."

Each ambulance was accompanied by a police officer, with two police cars following behind.

Qin Shu and Fan Zhenkai, who were called in the middle of the night, also rushed over after receiving the message.

When Zhou Tiancheng led his people inside, he felt a sense of oppression. An indescribable smell hung in the air, making it hard to breathe.

"Xingye, Jiang Li, are you two okay?"

Jiang Li heard Zhou Tiancheng’s voice and turned to look at them. This was the scene she had longed for every moment of every day three years ago. Three years later, it had finally arrived.

The narrow corridor was now crowded with police officers.

"We’re fine. This is the medicine they used to control the patients. And these are the medical records from their research. There’s also a lot of illegal medical equipment in there."

Jiang Li handed the medicine Lin Ye had given her and the other evidence to Zhou Tiancheng.

Jiang Li took a deep breath and pointed to the innermost room. "There should be surveillance footage in there. I’m not going."